Cats coming back

The boys of summer will return next year.

Thunder Bay Border Cats president and general manager Brad Jorgenson told tbnewswatch.com that his team will be back in 2012 and that the organization has already started selling season tickets.

Jorgenson said he and manager Mike Steed were not happy with the team’s record, which was a more respectable 16-16 in the second half with three games left in the season. But that doesn’t reflect the team’s efforts throughout 2011.

"Neither one of us is happy with it and we feel we have a lot of unfinished business here," Jorgenson said. "They did the absolute best they can and that’s all you can ask from the players you’ve got."

Off the field, Jorgenson said overall attendance was up 15 per cent this year, which still gives the team the second worst average attendance record in the Northwoods League with 771. A lot of that though may have been because of a cold June.

"Certainly there were some nights here where I questioned why anyone was here," he said with a laugh. "It was cold and it was brutal, yet there were still die-hard fans here."
No amount of promotion will get people in the seats when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

"That’s the most frustrating thing about this business is when (the weather is really bad) it doesn’t really matter what you’re promoting," he said.

"You can have some really good promotions that you’ve put a lot of money towards and it’s gone. There’s nothing you can do about that."

But Jorgenson points to Wednesday night’s game where there were more than 1,000 people at the Port Arthur Stadium as a mark for what the city is capable of.

When more people show up, that means more money for the team to be put back into enhancing the stadium.

The organization is looking at ways to get people out, from "pie in the sky" ideas like a home plate VIP section, to plans already in the works like an approved Toronto Blue Jays program that could see a batting cage near right field that would help Border Cats and be open to the public.

All of those ideas would need city approval before going ahead.

"We got a lot of things about in the air that we think about doing," he said.
Steed said while he’s disappointed with the team’s record, every player gave it their best all season long.

"There wasn’t a game that I can remember all season that they came out and just kind of mailed it in," Steed said before the Border Cats’ second last home game of the season Thursday.

Defensively the team was strong, the hitting was solid but the bullpen blew up mid-way through the season, giving up at least a dozen saves. That was probably the turning point in the season, he said.

"Our bullpen kind of fell down a little bit and we lost some games late," Steed said. "I think that was the difference."

Rounding out the bullpen will be key to a winning season for the Border Cats next year, Steed said. But the manager still hasn’t confirmed whether he will be part of that team.

"I haven’t made that decision yet. I’ll have that conversation with Brad Jorgenson," Steed said. "And make my decision here in the next couple of weeks."

Jorgenson said he wants to see Steed back in the dugout.

"I would love to have Mike Steed back again," Jorgenson said. "As far as an individual I don’t know anyone else I’d rather have."

A highlight for Steed was watching Cullen Mahoney mature into the best hitter in the league. The junior from Arizona’s South Mountain College is finishing up his season with a .337 average. He’s hit 27 RBIs and four home runs for the team. Mahoney, along with pitchers Brad Delatte and John Straka, played in this year’s Northwoods All Star game.

"Any time you get multiple guys in an all-star game it says a lot about your club and those kids personally," Steed said.

The Border Cats play their final home game Friday night at Port Arthur Stadium against the Wilmar Stingers. The Cats, already leading 2-0, will be looking to sweep the series.

The game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.